NE China prison heads sacked over drug scandal

18:49, April 17, 2013

SHENYANG, April 17 (Xinhua) -- The head and deputy head of a prison in northeast China's Liaoning Province have been fired over a drug scandal involving prisoners, a senior prison administration official confirmed Wednesday.

Yu Guoqiang, an official from the Liaoning Provincial Prison Administration Bureau, will serve as the new head of the Tieling Prison, said a publicity official from the bureau who requested anonymity.

Another official from a prison in Shenyang, the provincial capital, has been appointed deputy chief of the Tieling Prison, said the official, who declined to provide the names of the two sacked officials.

A scandal at the Tieling Prison, located in the city of Tieling, was exposed on Jan. 17, when authorities found and seized 2.23 grams of methamphetamine in the prison.

The drugs were apparently sent to the prisoners in secret by ex-inmates. Five current inmates are being questioned and police are looking for two former inmates.